"How about you?" Mary Beth asked. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did," Mark said. He grinned. "I usually do in my own room."
Mary Beth shook her head.
"You're as bad as your brother."
Mark laughed again but did not respond. He had nothing to add and knew that he and the others had more important things to discuss than lumpy mattresses.
"What did you and Piper do today?" Mark asked.
"We walked around the neighborhood," Mary Beth said.
"Did you see anything interesting?"
Mary Beth cocked her head.
"Everything is interesting when you're stuck in the past."
"Are you stuck?" Mark asked.
Mary Beth looked at him thoughtfully.
"I don't feel stuck. I feel like I'm in limbo."
Mark turned to Piper.
"How about you? Do you feel the same way?"
"I do," Piper said.
"Do you want to go back to 2017?" Mark asked.
Piper took a breath.
"I haven't decided."
"I understand," Mark said.
Piper looked at her host.
"I'm glad you do. This is really hard."
"What about you, Ben?" Mary Beth asked. "You haven't said much. What do you think we should do? What do you want us to do?"
Ben did not answer right away. He lowered his fork to his plate, sighed, and then studied Piper for a moment, as if trying to decide whether she was worth any future aggravation.
"I don't know, Mary Beth. I don't."
"That's an honest answer," Mary Beth said. "It's not a helpful one, but it's honest. We have a lot to think about. We have a lot of options to consider."
"Do we?" Mark asked.
"Do we what?"
"Do we have a lot of options? It seems to me we have only three."
"Please explain," Mary Beth said.
Mark looked around the table before offering an answer. He wondered what each of the others really thought about turning a time-travel weekend into something more.
He suspected that Mary Beth wanted more. He had suspected that from the moment she had put a hand on his arm and told him that he was "nice" and "interesting." He could not believe that a woman who had had so much fun in Las Vegas was ready to walk away now.
Mark was not as sure about Piper and Ben, who sat across from each other at the table. He guessed that they wanted to do more time traveling but not necessarily with each other. They had not wanted to do much of anything with each other since Saturday morning.
Mark gazed at the frowning teens for a moment and then turned to the woman who wanted him to explain his statement. He gathered his thoughts and continued.
"I think our options are pretty clear," Mark said. "We can travel to 2017, stay here in 1959, or say goodbye and return to our respective times."
"Can't we all just come and go as we please?" Mary Beth asked.
"We can't if we want to keep our discovery to ourselves."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it," Mark said. "Ben and I can't travel to the future without friendly assistance. We don't live in this place in 2017. We don't know Geoffrey Bell or his wife. If we traveled again to June 2, 2017, we would have to return within hours. We would have to return before your parents or the Bells came back to the house or risk losing access to the tunnel."
"What about us?" Mary Beth asked. "Couldn't Piper and I visit 1959 – and you two – as often as we wanted? I have a crystal."
"You're right. You do have a crystal. What you don't have is permanent access to the tunnel. Unless you plan to move to L.A. and bring the Bells in on our little secret, you have only a day or so to do more traveling. Didn't you say the Bells planned to return on June 3?"
"I did."
Mark frowned.
"Then there you have it."
"What if Piper and I stay here – in 1959 – for the rest of the week. We could stay here until your mom comes home on Sunday," Mary Beth said. "How does that sound?"
"That sounds nice," Mark said in a soft voice. He looked wistfully at Mary Beth. "Any option that gives me more time with you is a good one."
Mary Beth blushed and smiled.
"It appears we've found a solution."
"What if I wanted to do more?" Piper asked.
Mark looked at Piper.
"What do you mean?"
Piper took a breath.
"What if I wanted to stay longer than a week in 1959? What if I wanted to do more than take road trips to Las Vegas or go shopping or go to the beach? Could I do that?"
"I suppose you could."
"Really?"
Mark nodded.
"You would have to find another place to stay, of course. I don't think my mom would want to share her bedroom," Mark said with a laugh. "Other than that, I don't see a problem. It's not like your parents or the Bells would notice you were missing. You would be able to return to the morning of June 2, 2017, as if you had never been gone."
Mary Beth joined the conversation.
"What are you getting at, Piper? Do you want to spend a month here? I thought you didn't like the fifties and wanted to go back to the future."
"You're right," Piper said. "I did want to go back. Then I started thinking about the money you won in Vegas and the fun we could both have here."
Mary Beth fixed her gaze.
"Be more specific."
"I will," Piper said. "I will right after I ask Ben something."
"What's that?" Ben asked.
"Where do you go to school?"
"I go to Midway High in South Pasadena."
"Is it a good school?" Piper asked.
Ben leaned forward.
"It's a great school. It's just four years old."
"How do you get there?"
"I drive. It's about fifteen miles."
"So you commute?" Piper asked.
"I commute," Ben said. "Normally I take the Bird. Today I took the Edsel. Now that I have my car back from the shop, I'll drive it to school tomorrow."
"Can you take me?"
"Can I take you to school?"
Piper nodded.
"I want to go to your school tomorrow. Can you take me?"
Mark smiled.
"If Ben won't, I will."
"Thank you," Piper said.
Mary Beth stared at her sister.
"Why do you want to go to Ben's school?"
Mark laughed to himself. He guessed where this was going.
"I want to enroll," Piper said.
Mary Beth widened her eyes.
"You want to enroll? Are you crazy?"
Piper laughed.
"No. I'm as sane as I've been for days."
Mary Beth furrowed her brow.
"Then explain what this is about."
Piper sighed.
"It's about wanting to make the most of an opportunity."
"Haven't you done that already?"
"No, Mary Beth. I haven't. I went to Nevada. I rode in a car for several hours, ate cheap food, and played the slots. I didn't make the most of anything."
"So what do you want to do?" Mary Beth asked.
"I want to have an experience," Piper said. "I want to do the things I've done for the past four years, but in a different time. I want to take classes, make new friends, and go on dates. I want to jump into the fifties headfirst."
CHAPTER 15: PIPER
South Pasadena, California – Tuesday, March 24, 1959
Piper pinched her side as she walked through the sunny campus. She pinched her side to remind herself that the letterman sweaters and poodle skirts she saw outside Midway High School were not costumes for a musical but rather the everyday attire of real human beings.
"Can you believe this place?" Piper asked. "It's like Pleasantville in color."
Mary Beth laughed.
"You wanted this, remember?"
"I did. I do," Piper said. "This is so cool."
"I agree."
Piper slowed her step to take it all in. To her left, boys with crew cuts talked, laughed, and slapped backs. To her right, girls with ponytails giggled, gossiped, and clutched books. Boys gawked at girls. Girls gawked at boys. A few couples strolled the grounds hand in hand.
Piper did not see Ben. She had not come with Ben. He had left the Painted Lady that morning to attend his usual classes. Mark had volunteered to drive the girls to MHS, wait in the Edsel while they met with the principal, and then take them home. He had nothing on his afternoon slate except an engineering class that he happily skipped.
A moment later, Piper and Mary Beth approached the school entrance, opened a double door, and entered a lobby with a gleaming checkered floor. Several girls in sweaters, skirts, and saddle shoes manned tables along two walls and raised funds for a variety of causes.
Piper walked to one row of tables and saw students selling raffle tickets for the science club, the debate team, and a senior trip to San Diego. Other students collected money for Waylon West, a custodian who had broken his hip and required surgery.
Piper stepped to the last table, opened her purse, and retrieved one of twenty five-dollar bills Mary Beth had given her Monday night. She had asked for the cash after the four time travelers had made a quick trip to 2017 to collect the sisters' belongings and other essentials.
Mary Beth watched as Piper straightened the bill, smiled at the girl managing the janitor's recovery fund, and dropped the banknote in a jar. She chuckled when Piper turned around.
"That was nice of you."
Piper grinned.
"I'm feeling generous today."
Piper walked toward the opposite side of the lobby and saw even more giving opportunities. She smiled as she approached the first station and saw pictures of a boy named Tom Cain and a girl named Sue Finn. Each wore a paper crown. The couple vied against four others for prom king and queen. Students voted for couples by placing money in one of five jars.
Piper winced when she gave Sue's photo a closer inspection. Sue looked a lot like Sarah Benchley, a high school classmate who had died in a car accident in April 2017. Tom looked like a boy who needed a friend. Piper put a five-dollar bill in Tom and Sue's jar and moved down the line, a step ahead of an older sister who undoubtedly wondered what she was doing.
She left a Vegas nickel in each of the next two jars. She didn't feel a connection to the couples and figured they would do well even without her financial contribution. She put two dimes in the fourth jar to rid her purse of change and moved on to the last station.
Piper laughed when she reached the station and looked up at a photo of the man who would be king. She smiled at the picture. Ben Ryan smiled back.
Mary Beth laughed.
"It looks like Ben is a BMOC."
"It sure does," Piper said.
"That's funny," Mary Beth said. "He didn't mention that on the trip."
Piper ignored her sister's comment and gazed at the photo of Ben's running mate. Vicki Cole, queen wannabe, was a stunning blonde with a dazzling smile.
Piper scanned all five stations and noticed that students had given more pennies and nickels to Ben and Vicki than to any other couple. They had given slightly fewer to Chip Bennett and Bunny Martinez, the fourth couple and Ben and Vicki's closest competitors.
"I wonder who Vicki is," Piper said to Mary Beth. "Do you think she's Ben's girlfriend?"
"Does it matter?" Mary Beth asked.
"No. I guess not."
"Let's go. We have an appointment to keep."
"Wait," Piper said. "I'll just be a second."
Piper stepped toward the girl managing Ben and Vicki's jar.
"Excuse me. I'm new here and don't know how the prom works."
The girl smiled.
"Just ask."
"OK. I will," Piper said. "Who decides the candidates for king and queen?"
"A committee does. We pair boys and girls who look good together."
"Do the king and queen go to the dance as a couple?"
The girl nodded.
"I think it's a law or something."
Piper stifled a laugh.
"Do you think Ben and Vicki will win?"
The girl nodded again.
"The most popular students usually do."
Piper looked at Mary Beth, who pointed at her watch, and then at the young woman behind the pickle jar. She wondered how one became a money collector.
"I have just one more question," Piper said.
The girl sat up in her chair.
"OK."
"Are Chip and Bunny nice people?" Piper asked.
The girl beamed.
"They are."
Piper reached into her purse and retrieved three five-dollar bills. She walked to the fourth table, stuffed all three bills in the jar, and then returned to the girl at station five.
"Thank you," Piper said. She smiled. "I hope to see you around."
Piper glanced at the grinning girl at station four and then stepped toward her sister. She could hear Mary Beth's laugh even before she could see her smiling face.
"What was that all about?" Mary Beth asked.
"You heard the girl," Piper said. "Chip and Bunny are nice. They deserve to win."
Mary Beth laughed.
"Sometimes I think Mom and Dad adopted you."
"What time is it?" Piper asked.
"It's almost one. We need to go."
Piper nodded.
The sisters walked through the lobby, turned right into a long hallway, and weaved their way through a crowd of students toward the main office. They reached their destination just as a loud bell rattled their eardrums and announced the start of the next period.
"Are you ready?" Mary Beth asked.
"I'm ready."
The sisters hesitated for only a second and then opened the door. They walked to the counter, introduced themselves to a secretary, and asked to see Principal Raines. A moment later, they followed the secretary, a friendly woman of forty, through an open work area to a sizeable office.
The secretary pointed to two chairs. Each faced a large desk.
"Take a seat, ladies. Principal Raines will see you shortly."
"Thank you," Mary Beth said.
Piper settled into her lightly upholstered chair as the secretary took her leave. She turned to face her sister when the office worker shut the door.
"Do you think he'll buy our story?" Piper asked.
"I think so," Mary Beth said. "It's pretty airtight. I also have a letter from Dad. If the principal gives me any static, I'll just tell him to take it up with the colonel."
Piper laughed.
"How did you get a 'letter' from Dad?"
"I created it," Mary Beth said. "I wrote a draft for Mark and then asked him to rewrite it in a man's handwriting. It looks pretty good. Do you want to see it?"
"Maybe later," Piper said.
"OK."
Piper took a breath and smiled at her sister. She never admired her more than when Mary Beth stepped up and helped her sibling in a big way.
"You like him, don't you?"
"Who?" Mary Beth asked. "Mark?"
"Yes, silly. Mark."
Mary Beth blushed.
"I do. I know it's crazy to like anyone in these circumstances, but I do. He's one of the nicest people I have ever met and a true gentleman."
"Don't get too attached, Mary Beth. Even if we make good friends here, we can't keep them. We can't do anything except go back to you know where."
Mary Beth smiled and put a hand on Piper's knee.
"Thanks, Mom."
Piper laughed. She started to say something about the décor in the principal's office when the interior decorator himself opened the door and walked in. He placed a folder on his desk, turned to his left, and then stepped toward his visitors.
"Good afternoon," Principal Raines said. He extended a hand as Mary Beth and Piper rose from their seats. "I'm Warren Raines."
Mary Beth shook his hand.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Mary Beth McIntire. I've come here today to enroll my sister as a senior at Midway," Mary Beth said. She stepped back. "This is Piper."
The principal shook Piper's hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, young lady," Raines said. He motioned toward the chairs. "Please take a seat. This shouldn't take long."
The principal walked to the open door, gestured to a secretary as he closed it, and returned to his desk. A few seconds later, he settled into a richly upholstered chair.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," Raines said. "I had another matter to attend to just now."
"That's all right," Mary Beth said. "We're in no hurry."
Raines smiled at his visitors and then reached for the folder on his desk. He opened the folder wide, pulled out two forms, and gave them a quick inspection.
"I see you came here from West Germany," Raines said.
"Piper and I have lived there for the past few years," Mary Beth said. "Our father, Brody McIntire, is an Army colonel serving with the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division."
"I see."
"Our parents are still in Germany. They plan to join us in June, after my father is discharged, and retire to the Pasadena area, where we have many friends. Piper is here now so that she can graduate from a California high school and have a California diploma when she applies for admission to one of the state universities. She has her eyes on UCLA right now."
Piper marveled at Mary Beth's ability to take a grain of truth and bake it into a seven-layer cake. She and her sister had, in fact, lived in Germany, but they had moved to the South when Mary Beth was still in preschool and Piper was still in diapers.
"Are you acting as Piper's guardian?" Raines asked.
"I am," Mary Beth said. "My father asked me to look after her even though she is already eighteen years old. He wrote a letter authorizing me to act as her representative in any legal, financial, and educational matters. Would you like to see it?"
"Yes. I would."
Mary Beth retrieved an envelope from her purse and pulled out a tri-folded letter. She straightened the letter, written on Army stationery, and handed the document to the principal.
Piper fidgeted in her chair as Raines read the letter. She wondered if he was the kind of man who would summon law enforcement if he suspected that the sisters were pulling a fast one. She relaxed when she saw the administrator smile and return the letter to Mary Beth.
Class of '59 (American Journey Book 4) Page 7